


like real people do

by JustAnotherWriterChica



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-13 00:26:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9097468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherWriterChica/pseuds/JustAnotherWriterChica
Summary: Picks up right after "wish you were here"While Emma and Regina are stuck in the altered Enchanted Forest they're thrown into a spiraling world where things continue to go from bad to worse. As they try to figure out how to get home, Storybrooke is facing problems of its own as Gideon and the Black Fairy reveal themselves to the town.





	

"Regina please! He's not real and you know that." Emma was pleading with the brunette even as she watched the portal shrink until it vanished from existence; now their ride home was gone and a bow wielding fantasy was standing between them and any other chance they had of getting back.

The desperation in Emma's voice seemed to snap her out of it and Regina shook her head, brushing off the slightly confusing emotions she had felt. She hadn't been struck by a feeling of lost love when she saw her 'soulmate' but a rather a feeling of dread and severe confusion. She should have been overjoyed to see Robin alive and healthy but instead her stomach had dropped and she felt acutely nauseous. Regina wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling or why but she couldn't believe it had cost them their way home, potentially the only way. She looked at the spot where the portal had once been, "Emma."

Robin for his part, was utterly confused by what he was witnessing.

Magic was a source of great evil in his opinion and only destruction could come from it, he had held that sentiment ever since the Evil Queen had murdered his wife in cold blood. Imagine his delight when he happened to stumble upon her and the princess on the beach, completely unaware of their surroundings. Why the princess was with this murderess Robin had no idea but he wouldn't complain, more for him. "Alright ladies we can do this the easy way or-"

He was cut off by a groan of annoyance from the princess, "The hard way, we know." She held up a hand to silence him when his mouth opened before looking to the queen. "Are all villains in fairytale world this cliché?"

"Well I would like to think that I was at least somewhat original, after all most villains are based off of our stories." Regina argued, feeling the need to defend her former self.

The blonde held up her hands in defense as the archer watched the intriguingly amicable exchange. The queen continued, "Besides, Robin should be a hero in this world."

"How is it you know my name, witch?" Robin spat, raising his bow again.

Regina rolled her eyes and raised a hand quickly, casting a spell on the man to knock him out for a few hours and only feeling the slightest bit guilty as she watched his body drop to the sand. "Well we should probably go back to my castle until we can figure out how the hell we're going to get back."

She turned and began to walk back, listening to the crunching of shells as Emma hiked up her skirts to catch up. "Okay I want you to know that I find this whole situation very odd."

Regina hummed her agreement, "As do I but I suppose this could have been my world had things worked out differently."

The blonde frowned, thinking about how much things would've changed if Regina had never cast the curse, if Cora had never sent Snow's horse in Regina's direction, if Daniel hadn't died. "Well I like our world better anyways. Yeah it sucks sometimes but overall it's pretty good, plus indoor plumbing."

There was a soft chuckle as they reached the courtyard, " _That_ is something that I was immensely confused by when we first arrived." Regina grimaced as she recalled her first experience with a shower.

Emma threw her head back in laughter as they climbed the stairs back up to Regina's bedroom, "That is something I would have paid to see. What about things like-"

Her voice faltered as they came upon the scene they had left behind them. Henry was still frozen in his kneeling position, sword hanging in midair a few feet ahead of him and her parents lay dead in the corner of the room. "Do you think you could..."

Regina had taken notice of the distressed look on her face before the blonde had even said anything and waved her hand quickly, making all the bodies disappear. Emma still looked panicked so the she reassured her, "Henry is fine, he's just asleep in another bedroom and I put your parents' bodies in the crypt where they'll be protected."

"Thanks," was the only response the queen received but she knew that Emma was going to be fine as she watched the color return in her lips and cheeks. Not that she was intentionally staring at Emma's lips or anything, Regina thought to herself, she was just making sure her co-parent was alright. For Henry's sake.

Wait, that's a lie.

It wasn't just for Henry's sake but more for her own. Over the course of their relationship Regina had come to respect Emma and even consider her a friend, if not her closest friend. The blonde was just so, well, human that Regina found herself constantly pulled back into her life. Everyone else in town had perfect little lives, or at least pretended they did, and that fact alone was enough to drive Regina away from them. How could she be expected to become attached to someone when they could in no way relate to her?

But that's not how it was with Emma. Regina wouldn't fool herself, she knew exactly who the blonde was from the moment she introduced herself and she had hated her because she was the product of true love, had immediately captured her son's heart without any effort while she clawed for attention, and was bound to have a perfect life. Only she didn't and it took Regina a long time, too long quite frankly, to realize that. The blonde had scars both physical and mental, nightmares, reasons she wasn't willing to share, and stories she would never tell which made them two of a kind. Emma was the most realistic person she had ever met, in every realm, and she was glad she could say that were close.

So yes, Regina _had_ been staring because she wanted to. Which was how she must've missed what Emma was currently saying to her.

The blonde waved her hand in front of her face, "Regina. Earth to her Majesty, come in Mayor Mills."

Regina blinked and furrowed her brow, "Sorry, I don't know where my mind was."

That was another lie, but oh well.

The blonde let out a chuckle and began reexplaining herself, "I said why don't we go to bed for the night since it's starting to get dark and then tomorrow morning we can start working on a way to get home?"

"Sounds good to me." Regina turned to walk to her room when the savior cleared her throat. She sighed, sometimes this woman was more of a child than Henry was, "Yes Emma?"

When she turned the woman in question was sporting a sheepish grin and a shy blush to match. "Um, I have two problems actually. One, I don't know spells for clothes," she paused to motion to her ridiculously un-Emma like dress. "Secondly, I don't know my way around the castle."

With a snap of the queen's fingers Emma's dress was now her normal tank top and sweat pants. Regina pointed out the door, "follow the hall all the way down and the last door on the right is a guest room."

Emma nodded and turned to look down the hall before beginning to meander out of the room. She turned to shut the massive doors behind her and give a final word, "Good night Regina."

"Good night Miss Swan."

When the grand double doors had finally shut all the way Regina let her face break out into the wide grin she almost hadn't been able to repress. She couldn't have told you why it was there, or maybe she just didn't want to think about it, but it was there nonetheless and she allowed herself the brief reprieve from their complicated situation as she changed and slid into her old bed. The day's events had worn on her and she fell asleep almost as soon as she slid under her covers.

 

  
All was quiet in the castle, almost eerily so that night which allowed Regina to sleep peacefully until she heard a noise come from the hall. For a moment she panicked, a dark memory from her past resurfacing coming to haunt her before she realized where she was and who she was with. Which was the reason why Regina had thrown open her doors and skidded into the hall, listening to see if she could hear the noise again.

Sure enough it rang out in the silence and sounded distinctly like screaming. This set the queen into motion and she began running down the hall, bracing herself for the attacker she knew she was bound to face. Regina wrenched open the door, ready to throw a fireball when she realized that Emma was the only other person in the room. And she was thrashing and shouting in her sleep.

Regina gave herself a second to cool down and breathe before padding over to the bed and trying to figure out the best approach. After a few seconds of deliberating she decided the direct approach might be the best. She leaned down and placed a hand on Emma's shoulder to shake her but as soon as they made contact the blonde shot up into a sitting position and threw out her hands. The action sent a wave of magic through the room and Regina went flying through the air, swept away by the force before hitting the door and falling rather harshly on her side.

The groan she emitted seemed to snap Emma out of it and she was by the queen's side in two seconds. "Oh my god Regina I am so sorry! I don't know what happened but I really didn't mean it! Are you okay?"

Emma helped the brunette to a sitting position where she shook her head to try and focus her vision. When she determined that everything was still intact and she could feel her legs she shifted so that she could stand up, gladly taking the offered hand as she was a little wobbly.

"Regina I really am sorry. I don't know what came over me, it was like my magic felt like it was being attacked or something." Emma ran her free hand through her hair, not really noticing that her other still had a tight grip on Regina's fingers. She still had an odd, almost electric, sensation running through her body. Emma felt like she was invincible and completely vulnerable all at once and she did not like it one bit.

Regina got her bearings quickly and took note of how frazzled the blonde seemed. She squeezed Emma's hand lightly, reassuringly, and led her back over to the bed. "Okay let's sit down and you can tell me what happened."

They sat together on the bed, Emma leaning back against the intricate frame with her legs pulled up against her chest; Regina placed herself in front of the blonde and crossed her legs, grabbing a pillow to place on her lap. They almost looked like two teenagers having a regular sleep over, getting ready to spill secrets that they would promise to take to their graves.

"So what were you dreaming about?" Regina prompted as the silence between them began to draw out.

The savior nodded, realizing that she was going to have to tell Regina everything that she had seen. "It was very similar to the visions that I've been having, the ones where I die."

Pursed lips pressed into a thin line as Regina listened, nodding her acknowledgement.

"Well it was like that except this time some things were changed up. Hook wasn't there anymore or my mother and Henry, don't ask me why because I still don't know. David was there though, along with Belle and Granny for some odd reason. But those weren't the only things that had changed, you were there this time."

There was a sharp intake of breath and Emma looked up to meet Regina's eyes, "We were fighting side by side and almost in sync. I don't know it was like we had some weird sort of pull with each other, I could feel it all throughout my body, it felt like there was lightning in my veins. It was exhilarating."

A smile graced Emma's lips as she recalled the feeling, the immense power she knew she contained even just in her vision. It had also been a comforting feeling, a surge of light magic which had brought on all her happiest memories, little moments like laughing with Lily as a kid or taking Henry to the park. Emma let her eyes wander back to meet the queen's and she found a soft kindness there which she had only ever seen used for Henry.

Regina pressed on, "Was that all or did something...bad happen?" There had to have been a reason for Emma's screaming and she suspected that the happy memories didn't last long.

This seemed to sober the blonde and she sat up straighter as she finished her story. "We were fighting the cloaked figure together, and we were winning. We were so powerful that we were barely even raising our blades and he, or she I guess, didn't even have time to recover."

Emma watched as a chill ran through Regina, "We thought we had won, the figure went down one more time and didn't make any movement to suggest it was still alive or conscious. So we walked over to go check and you were two steps ahead of me, I could've reached out and grabbed you without needing to move another inch."

The brunette sensed where this was going and steadied herself for what Emma had to say next. "It moved and before anyone could do anything there was a sword in your stomach. It was," she struggled to find a word to describe what she had felt when she had witnessed that, "like all the lights had gone out, not only for you but I felt it in me as well. Like someone had simply flipped a switch. You, uh, you died in my arms and I guess that's what you heard."

She finished her story and wasn't surprised to feel the wetness on her cheeks when she ran a hand over her face. When she looked up Regina's eyes were closed and she looked like she might be sick. "Regina?"

A shaky breath was the only thing that disturbed the silence that followed but as soon as that had passed the queen opened her eyes and all Emma could see was furious determination. "We're going to get home and we're going to face this cloaked figure and we're going to win. Neither of us is going to die, not when we have Henry and Snow and David and even Zelena to think about. That is not how this story is going to end, do you understand me?"

Emma nodded, if only because she was slightly in awe of the renewed bravery she saw in the queen. "Right. For Henry."

She let out a soft sigh. Of course she loved her kid with all she had but "for Henry" seemed to be wearing down on her, it had become more of a plausible excuse for her actions than a real motive. She still did plenty of things for that kid, save him from evil, save the town from darkness, show him that true happy endings come from work not just the magic running through town. Then there were the other things that she did for personal reasons but hid behind "for Henry" any ways, like put on a smile on days she would rather curl up in a ball and stay in bed, stay with a boyfriend whom she didn't really love, or check on Regina even when she knew the brunette was perfectly fine and capable of taking care of herself.

Both were lost in thought but it was Regina who grounded herself first, resisting the urge to wring her hands as she glanced over at the blonde. "Well we should probably try to get some more sleep, we still have a couple hours before morning and I'm sure you're tired."

Regina swung her legs off the edge and made to get up when she felt a hand on her arm. She looked down at the new contact before meeting Emma's eyes. "Thank you for coming to get me, I was not in a good place."

"Of course, I'm sure you would've done the same for me." And Regina meant it. A year ago she may have said something else entirely but she was certain now that Emma held some sort of feelings for her.

The blonde nodded and let go, not realizing that she had been holding Regina's arm for so long. "Right. Sleep."

"Right." Regina paused for a second, looking as though she wanted to say more but decided against it, wordlessly pushing herself off the bed and slipping out the door.

Emma watched the door for a minute before groaning and letting her head fall to her knees. Why can't anything in her life be simple for once?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the read loves, hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think. I would like to say I'll be updating soon but that might change.


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